One of the bright young stars in motorcycle drag racing is getting on some top-notch equipment.
Brayden Davis has reached an agreement with the Vance & Hines team to ride one of their customer lease bikes at the upcoming NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events in Bristol and Richmond.
Davis, of Douglas, Ga., is a third-generation racer who got his start in the Jr. Drag Racing League. He is a multitime champion on the PDRA circuit and has a similar background to current Vance & Hines riders Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson, as he’s ridden a variety of quick two-wheel machines, including a Pro Nitrous machine that is capable of three-second eighth-mile elapsed times. Davis made his NHRA debut earlier this season in Gainesville with the White Alligator Racing team and qualified before losing to Angie Smith in round one.
“After Gainesville, I talked with my sponsors, Terry and Angela Durrence of PowerTrain Inc., and we looked at our options. I’m close with Richard [Gadson], and we were able to put together a deal with Vance & Hines,” said Davis. “When you look at their history, who would you not want to race with a team like that? You look at all the wins and all the championships and then see what Gaige has done and how much Richard has picked up. I want to be a part of that.”
Vance & Hines crew chief Andrew Hines added, “We’re excited to welcome Brayden to the team. His talent has been evident from his early days in Jr. Dragster to his transition into E.T. motorcycles, and now into the ultra-competitive world of Pro Mod motorcycles. Throughout his racing career, he’s consistently shown a natural ability behind the controls.”
Davis will not only be joining the most successful team in the history of the class, he will also be riding the same Suzuki Hayabusa that carried two-time world champion Herrera to his most recent win at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Peak in Chicago. Herrera stepped off his regular RevZilla Suzuki and rode the team’s lease bike in an effort to showcase the program.
“In Chicago, with Gaige as the rider, we confirmed that our [lease program] motorcycle will be ready for the occasion,” Hines said. “In Bristol and Richmond, we’ll be guiding Brayden through the nuances and finesse required to extract those critical thousandths of a second from these machines.
“This kid is naturally gifted, but it’s probably a lot of pressure to jump on the same bike that Gaige just won on in Chicago. I won’t throw him to the wolves on the first run. We will see what he can handle and work through it, but he will have all the pieces necessary to win the race. We didn’t change a thing from the final round in Chicago. It’s the same parts with a new rider.”
Davis fully understands the opportunity that lies in front of him, and he’s determined to make the most of it.
“A Pro Stock Motorcycle is a big challenge in its own right,” said Davis. “They have a shorter wheelbase and a smaller tire than what I’m used to, but I feel like I’m getting the best of the best with Andrew as my crew chief, and the bike that Gaige just rode. It may take me one or two runs to get acclimated, but overall, I feel very comfortable.
“I’ll consider the weekend a success if I can qualify in the top half of the field and maybe win a round. Anything more than that would be a blessing. What I’d really like to do is make it to the semifinals so I could be in the [Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge] when we get to Virginia.”
Current plans call for Davis to race in the Bristol and Richmond events with the possibility of additional events being added in the future.
